Back-of-the-head viewing system

ABSTRACT

A mirror mounting unit designed to function along side an existing mirror to provide a back-of-the-head viewing system. The unit is composed of a bracket having a vertical bar upon which is slideably and rotatably mounted an extendible arm having on one end thereof one portion of a ball and socket retainer and a hand mirror with handle, having on one end of the handle the other portion of the retainer, such that the mirror may be rotatably suspended thereby.

Ilmted States Patent 1 1 1 1 1 Arroyo et all. May 1, 1973 154BACK-OF-THE-HEAD VIEWING 1,031,075 7/1912 Lundin ..3s0 305 SYSTEMFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [76] Inventors: Norma Z. Arroyo, 400Liberty St.,

San Francisco Nor- 617,565 France man T. Seaton, 240 TunneI Rd., B k l C1if 94705 Primary Examiner-Ronald L. Wibert Assistant Examiner-Michael.I. Tokar [22] Filed: Atlo'rneyWarren, Rubin, Brucker & Chickering [21]Appl. No.: 134,954

[57l ABSTRACT [52] US. CI. .....350/305, 248/476, 248/480 A mirrormounting unit designed to function along [51] Int. Cl. ..G02b 5/08 sidean existing mirror to provide a back-of-the-head [58] Field Of Search..35()/3()5; 248/476, viewing system, The unit is composed of a bracket495 having a vertical bar upon which is sIideably and rotatably mountedan extendible arm having on one References Cited end thereof one portionof a ball and socket retainer UNITED STATES PATENTS and a hand mirrorwith handle, having on one end of the handle the other portion of theretalner, such that 3,019,709 2/1962 Teason .248/477 the mirror may berotatably suspended thereby.

763,380 6/1904 Martin ...350/305 878,098 2/1908 Sutton ..350/305 3Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PAI RAY' 1 12275 SHEET 1 [1F 2 Norma Z.Arroyo Norman 1' Seafon PAIENIEU W 1 m3 SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTORS Norma Z.Arroyo Norman T Seafon WM, a M f At orneys BACK-OF-THE-HEAD VIEWINGSYSTEM The present invention relates to an adjustable mirror assembly,and more particularly, to a unit which is to be used in conjunction withanother mirror to permit ease in back-of-the-head viewing.

Mirror assemblies permitting back of-the-head viewing have been proposedin the art over the years. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 763,380,1,994,126, 2,9l5,944 and 3,392,950. While all of the devices disclosedin these patents enable one to view the back of the head, no prior artdevice known to the inventors is able to combine the beneficial aspectsto be found herein.

For example, the present device may be distinguished from prior devicesin the fact that it may be readily stored in a rather small space whennot in use, but in operation it is capable of large adjustments in allthree dimensions so as to accommodate the various needs of differentusers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a back-of-the-headviewing unit of the character described which is extremely easy to use.This object is met herein by utilizing easily detachable mounting meansto both store the parts when not in use and position and secure theparts when in use.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a unit of thecharacter above noted which is able to assume a given position quicklyand remain therein without further necessity to secure any partsthereof, until its user desires to change the position.

Still another object of the described invention is to provide a unitwhich will enable the user, by the use of various types of mirrorstherewith, to obtain both plain and magnified views of various portionsof the torso.

A further object of the present invention is to permit the movablemirror used therein to be quickly and easily detachable so as to befurther separately utilized as a regular hand mirror if so desired.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an estheticallypleasing device of the character above which lends itself to inexpensivemass production.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some ofwhich of the foregoing will be set forth in the following description ofthe preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawingsaccompanying and forming a part of this specification. It is to beunderstood, however, that variations in the showing made by the saiddrawings and description may be adopted within the scope of theinvention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mirror mounting unit mountedadjacent a substantially vertical surface mirror and constructed inaccordance with the present invention and illustrated both in its in-useposition and in a storage position (phantom lines).

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away view of the extendible arm of the devicetogether with the mounting means thereof.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the mounting means takensubstantially along the plane of line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the spring leaf carried by the mounting means.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the spring leaf taken substantially alongthe planes ofline 5--5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a partially cut-away view of a section of the extendible armtogether with the spherical socket.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the socket taken substantially along line 7-7of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the socket taken substantially alongthe line 8-8 of FIG. 6 and showing (in phantom) the positioning of theball therein.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view partially in cross section of the mountingmeans shown mounted on a rod.

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the mounting means.

FIG. 11 is a side plan view of the mounting means.

The preferred embodiment of the mirror mounting unit of the presentinvention consists briefly of a fixed mirror 10 mounted on asubstantially vertical surface (not shown) such as a wall or door; abracket 11 adapted for mounting on the surface adjacent the fixed mirrorand having a substantially vertically disposed mounting rod 12; anextendable arm 13; a snapable mount 14 formed with open jaws l6 and 17(see FIG. 2) dimensioned to demountably receive and slideably embracevertical rod 12 for adjustable vertical positioning thereon and forrotation about said rod; a hand 'mirror 18 having a handle 19; anduniversal mounting means 21 having demountably attached sections, one(23) carried by the handle 19 and the other (22) carried by the arm 13for suspending the hand mirror from the arm and for rotation about avertical axis. A

As an important feature of the present invention, the bracket 11 isprovided with horizontally disposed mounting rods 26, 27, and the jaws16, 17 of the mounting means section carried by the arm are formed anddimensioned for demountable attachment to the horizontal rods forsuspension of the arm and hand mirror therefrom when not in use. Hookingpart 23 is designed for similar attachment of the hand mirror when notin use. Thus the entire unit may be readily contained within the spacebounded by the bracket and vertical surface during storage periods asshown in FIG. 1.. Additionally, the mirror 18 and/or arm 13 may beconveniently hung upon either of the upper or lower rods 26 or 27. Inthe preferred embodiment, boththe vertical and horizontal rods arecylindrical and of substantially the same diameter so as to permitsecure, interchangeable mounting thereon of the jaws.

In its essential form, the mount 14 grips the vertical rod 12 by meansof friction that depends on the moment generated by the weight of thetelescopic rod 13 and the weight of any object attached at the end 22.Reliable gripping action, yet with free-sliding-operation, isobtained-when mount 14 is fabricated such that the passage for the rod12 consists of a semi-cylindrical hole to which has been addeddiametrically opposed offset clearances 20, passing nearly through mount14 from the opposite ends of the hole such as to leave the frictiongripping edges 24. Mount fabrication entails milling a hole, havingcenter line 61 and a diameter equal to that of the rod l2, all the waythrough a block, preferably one of aluminum. In the preferred embodimentthe hole and rod have a diameter of seven-sixteenth inch. Thereafteranother 7/16 inch hole, having hole, the offset from initial center line61 is the same,

being approximately 0.020 inch for the device noted here. Finally alateral cut of rod diameter is made in from a side of the block suchthat each edge is tangent to the respective offset hole opening at theopposite ends 65 and 66. Easy admission of the vertical rod 12 to thegripping action of mount 14 is obtained by an appropriate obliquelateral cutout 25 in the mount, which acts together with the offsetclearances 20, to permit the rod to rest in essentially a horizontalposition, when hung such that the cutout and gripping edges arepositioned to offset the effect each tends to produce.

The jaws contain a spring leaf 28 which is formed and mounted therein toprovide snap action positioning of the jaws on the various rods. Theleaf is made of a material which is capable of being made thin(approximately 0.00 80.032 inch) and flexible and yet durable. For thispurpose, both brass and plastic have been found to be suitable. The leafis preferably cut into several sections as shown in FIG. 3, 4 and andformed with tongue portions 29, 30 which slideably seat in jaw grooves32 and 33.

In the preferred construction of the unit the extendible arm iscomprised of four sections 36, 37, 38 and 39 each approximately incheslong, outer section 36 having an exterior diameter ofv approximatelythreeeighth inches. The two ends of the arm have press fitted thereindowels 41 and 42 forming a part of the mounting means and universalmounting means respectively. Each section is capable of rotation aboutthe arm axis.

The telescopic sections 37, 38, 39 are a modification of a type known inthe art but herein one end 100 of the telescoping or extendable rod isspun down to make a close fit on the next smaller tube, and in which theother, opposite end is fitted with two friction stop springs 101 keyedinto circumferential slots in said end. The modification here employedis that this latter friction stop end is spun out to fit closely thenext larger size tube, and thereby minimize in the extended state theangle between the axes of successive tubes.

The preferred construction of the unit includes a spherical socket aspart of the universal mounting means mounted upon the arm and the handlemounted section thereof comprising a ball 43 dimensioned for mounting inthe socket and an adjacent hook 44 formed and dimensioned to demountablyengage the horizontal rods.

Socket 22 is novelly designed and formed so that three retaining points46, 47 and 48 support the ball substantially near an imaginary planewhich includes the center of the ball and is parallel to the planeformed by the three points. This manner ofsupport permits the suspendedmirror to quickly achieve a stable, nonoscillating position upon beingmoved into use position rod 13 are draped from the upper arm 26. As analternative, for mirrors that are incapable of fitting in the spacebetween arms 26 and 27, the mirror may be hung from lower arm 27, in thesame fashion it is depicted as depending on arm 26. Of course, othercombinations, such as hanging both the mirror and rod 13 from the lowerarm 27, are possible.

The rod 13 is demounted from the arm 26 or 27 upon which it may behanging and is snappingly mounted upon mounting rod 12, preferablytoward the top portion thereof as depicted in FIG. 1. Thereafter, thehand mirror 18 is removed from its storage position and placed in socket21. The rod 13 and mirror 18 may then be universally rotated to suit theusers particular dimensions and desires and may also be raised orlowered along the mounting rod 12 as demanded, by simply sliding themounting l4 therealong. Additionally, the hand mirror may be rotated inmounting means 21 and due to the above-noted construction, the entireunit will remain extremely stationary almost immediately upon thecompletion of the various adjustments the user desires to complete. 7

After usage, the unit may be disassembled, in the reverse order notedabove and placed'in the-storage position. Additionally, the hand mirrormay be separately utilized for various other uses which-do not call forthe assistance of a second mirror.

In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 1, the backof-the-head viewingsystem has the fixed mirror 10 mounted on a substantially verticalsurface such as mounting board 60 and bracketl 1 is mounted adjacent thesurface of the fixed mirror. The invention is otherwise as describedabove, but may additionally be readily removed from one location toanother without havin'gto remove the fixed mirror and bracket from avertical surface. Additional attaching or mounting means (not shown) maybe provided on board or surface 60 for supporting the board in asubstantially vertical plane if desired. Thus the board may bepermanently affixed in place or may be so situated as to be readilymoved into various locations as usage demands and temporarily secured inposition thereat.

We claim: 1

1. In a back-of-the-head viewing system having a first verticallydisposed mounting rod, an extensible arm,

and to retain this position without further motion for an indefiniteperiod. The socket is further formed with a central opening 49 of largerdimension than the diameter of ball 42, and two retainer portions 51 and52 each .containinga set of the three retaining points above -whereinboth the hand mirror 18 and the extendible arm mounting means securedadjacent a first end of said arm and slidably mounting said arm on saidmounting rod, a second mirror, and universal mounting means demountablyattaching said second mirror to said arm adjacent a second end thereof,the improvement comprising:

said arm mounting means being formed as a sleevelike element secured tosaid arm and formed with a pair of opposed jaws orientedon planesgenerally perpendicularly to said arm and extending verti cally over thelength of said element to define a vertically extending opening in aside of said element, said opening being dimensioned for'slidablemounting and removal of said arm from said mounting rod and remountingofsaid arm on said support rod for storage thereof, said jaws further saidsecond mirror being provided with handle means and formed for selectiveremoval from said arm for use separately of said system, said handlemeans being formed with support rod engaging means for mounting on saidsupport rod for storage.

2. A back-of-the-head viewing system as defined in claim 1 wherein,

said arm mounting means is provided with spring biasing means carried bysaid jaws, said spring biasing means being formed with a resilientlymovable portion retaining said element and said arm on said mounting rodand said support rod against inadvertent demounting therefrom, saidmovable portion being formed for selective resilient displacement tomount and demount said arm from said mounting rod and said support rodto provide a snap mount thereto.

3. A back-of-the-head viewing system as defined in claim 1 wherein,

said universal mounting means is provided by a ball element mounted onsaid handle means of said second mirror and a socket mounted on said armhaving a ball receiving opening, a side channel, a downwardly facingopening, and three retaining elements dimensioned to prevent passage ofsaid ball element downwardly therepast and dimensioned to engage andsupport said ball element at a plane adjacent to, below andsubstantially parallel to a horizontal plane passing through the centerof said ball element to frictionally damp relative movement of said armand said second mirror by wedging action between said retaining elementsand ball element whereby said second mirror is mounted in said socketfor selective movement therein and is frictionally damped to a stableposition by gravity.

1. In a back-of-the-head viewing system having a first mirror, meanssupporting said first mirror in a substantially vertical plane, abracket positioned adjacent said first mirror and including an uppersubstantially horizontally disposed support rod and a substantiallyvertically disposed mounting rod, an extensible arm, arm mounting meanssecured adjacent a first end of said arm and slidably mounting said armon said mounting rod, a second mirror, and universal mounting meansdemountably attaching said second mirror to said arm adjacent a secondend thereof, the improvement comprising: said arm mounting means beingformed as a sleeve-like element secured to said arm and formed with apair of opposed jaws oriented on planes generally perpendicularly tosaid arm and extending vertically over the length of said element todefine a vertically extending opening in a side of said element, saidopening being dimensioned for slidable mounting and removal of said armfrom said mounting rod and remounting of said arm on said support rodfor storage thereof, said jaws further being formed to grippingly engagesaid mounting rod at vertically spaced points on opposite sides thereofupon rotation of said element about a horizontal axis under the weightof said arm and formed to be released from said mounting rod uponunweighting of said arm for selected vertical adjustment and automaticgravity actuated gripping of said mounting rod at any vertical height onsaid mounting rod, and said jaws being formed for rotation of said armabout said mounting rod while maintaining gripping engagement with saidmounting rod; and said second mirror being provided with handle meansand formed for selective removal from said arm for use separately ofsaid system, said handle means being formed with support rod engagingmeans for mounting on said support rod for storage.
 2. Aback-of-the-head viewing system as defined in claim 1 wherein, said armmounting means is provided with spring biasing means carried by saidjaws, said spring biasing means being formed with a resiliently movableportion retaining said element and said arm on said mounting rod andsaid support rod against inadvertent demounting therefrom, said movableportion being formed for selective resilient displacement to mount anddemount said arm from said mounting rod and said support rod to providea snap mount thereto.
 3. A back-of-the-head viewing system as defined inclaim 1 wherein, said universal mounting means is provided by a ballelement mounted on said handle means of sAid second mirror and a socketmounted on said arm having a ball receiving opening, a side channel, adownwardly facing opening, and three retaining elements dimensioned toprevent passage of said ball element downwardly therepast anddimensioned to engage and support said ball element at a plane adjacentto, below and substantially parallel to a horizontal plane passingthrough the center of said ball element to frictionally damp relativemovement of said arm and said second mirror by wedging action betweensaid retaining elements and ball element whereby said second mirror ismounted in said socket for selective movement therein and isfrictionally damped to a stable position by gravity.